Eskies - And Don’t Spare the Horses

  by Benjamin Howarth

published: 9 / 2 / 2018

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Review

Irish five-piece the Eskies have been cooking up a storm on the festival circuit with their jubilant mix of gypsy-folk, show tunes and Springsteen-esque classic rock. Now, with a second studio album, they look to dis-prove the notion that they are a live act who don't translate quite so well to the studio. To do so, they've brached out beyond the uptempo singalongs, with their folk roots increasingly to the fore on the unexpectedly emotional , hymn-like 'Death to the Sentry' and the album-highlight 'Building Up The Walls', with the band's repetoire of military metaphors employed to explore a failing relationship, with the end result a slightly more rumbunctuous take on Tom Waits. There are a couple of real barnstormers - 'Napolean' is a song of defiance from the enemies of France in the Napoleonic wars, who pledge to outlift their old foe, 'The Man Who Ran' is a jaunty should-I-shouldn't-I from someone contemplating military desertion. The setting of the songs in distant history - none come close to the twentieth century - is a vehicle that sets The Eskies out from the pack and gives them an excuse to ham it up magnificently. They known their way around a good tune, and while they have not pened an out-and-out classic, yet, this is a richly entertaining release, with plenty of singalongs and enough variety to hold the ear throughout its eleven tracks.

Track Listing:-

1 All Good Men
2 I'm Not Sorry
3 The Man Who Ran
4 Building Up Walls
5 Napoleon
6 Shame
7 I'd Rather Be Lonely
8 You'd Already Gone
9 Hail, Hail
10 Death To The Sentry
11 And Don't Spare The Horses

Band Links:-

http://www.theeskies.com/
https://www.facebook.com/TheEskies
https://twitter.com/TheEskies
https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/the-eski
http://theeskies.bandcamp.com/